Questions tagged [punctuation]
This tag is for questions about punctuation. This encompasses marks such as the period/full stop, comma, dash, and parentheses, used to separate structural units and perform other roles that clarify the meaning. USE THE 'SYMBOLS' tag for currency symbols, accents and so forth.
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How to quote a word in quotes [duplicate]
I want to quote a scholar's use of the term irrealis flavour. So normally I would just say:
XYZ merely says that such constructions have an 'irrealis flavour'.
However, the original scholar actually ...
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Comma at the end of a line on a commemorative plaque [closed]
I am ordering a plaque to commemorate the contributions of an individual to an organization. Is it proper to put a comma at the end of the first line (after "Vossen")? If it was all on one ...
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How to parse and punctuate the saying: "United we stand, divided we fall."
Personally, I think the phrase should be punctuated like this:
"United, we stand; divided, we fall."
The thing is, I could envision "United we stand" without a comma perhaps ...
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What did Tolkien apparently have against commas?
While reading his books in English for the first time a while back, I was shocked by how ultra-concise the language was in the original language. Perhaps the most frustrating part was his extremely ...
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Commas around parenthetical phrase
Does the following phrase work with and without commas?
He has provided valuable insights, through his work on several projects in the field, to the rest of the team.
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Comma uncommon usage
At the beginning of The Magician's Nephew, CS Lewis wrote:
In those days Mr. Sherlock Holmes was still living in Baker Street and
the Bastables were looking for treasure in the Lewisham Road. In ...
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Is there precedent for eventually dropping apostrophes from words? If so how long does it normally take for the word to evolve
During the evolution of the English language words are invented, stuck together to create new words and in some cases change meaning altogether. As such I would assume there are lots of words we use ...
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Punctuation for "the following" followed by sentence [closed]
How do I separate "construction" and "let" in the following sentence? (the context comes from mathematics)
More examples come from the following construction. Let A be ...
Thank ...
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Comma Rules - It sounds weird in my head without the Comma, but can't tell what's wrong about not having one either
I was marked wrong for this - Do we or do we not use commas to separate two nouns that come like this:
From the couch, Alice continued, "I will speak to..."
I thought From the couch would ...
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Is the comma after "practices" in that sentence correct?
A lot of people care about the environment, and a lot don’t. Which side are you? It’s your practices that tell. For those who don’t, there must be a way to make them aware of their bad practices, and ...
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Is "???" a valid version of ellipsis?
I'm marking essays for the IB (International Baccalaureate), and I've run into two student essays from students in the UK (don't know if that makes a difference) where they've identified the use of &...
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Bracketing comma and placement [duplicate]
Which of the following shows the correct use of bracketing commas?
"The last chapter of the first section is set, in contrast to the preceding ones, in the couples' home."
OR
"The last ...
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Punctuation Breakdown: Examining Commas in a Sentence
I'm hoping to get a breakdown of the punctuation in the following sentence:
It has a wider-reaching impact because, arguably, in addition to being of use to vehicle owners, it also benefits the ...
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What punctuation do I use in "stage performers, their stage: the sky"?
I have a sentence which currently looks like
They dance in the distance like graceful stage performers, their stage: the sky!
The comma introduces more detail, but the colon is "more" than ...
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How best to punctuate this sentence? [closed]
I have a sentence and am wondering how best to punctuate it. I've included the raw sentence below, as well as my own attempt, and my instructor's suggestion. Any other ideas welcome! I basically feel ...
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